Survey highlights pressing need for grocers to provide accurate inventory visibility to meet consumer expectations, enhance shopping experience, and build stronger relationships
LOS ALTOS, CA / ACCESSWIRE / February 6, 2024 / Online grocery shopping has skyrocketed in popularity over the last four years, a quick evolution that was greatly accelerated by the pandemic. New research released today by Bryj, the AI-powered, end-to-end SaaS solution for custom mobile app development and user engagement, reveals that 2 in 5 consumers (39%) prefer buying groceries through an app versus shopping in-store, yet less than a third of consumers (31%) are fully satisfied with the mobile grocery shopping experience.
Informed by a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers commissioned by Bryj and conducted by Dynata, the new research examines consumers' opinions and preferences toward the grocery mobile shopping experience and how grocers can better meet expectations to achieve business success.
The ability to shop for groceries through a mobile app has become an expectation among consumers and can influence where people choose to shop, with more than half of consumers (53%) more likely to shop with a grocer that has a mobile app over one that does not. Bryj's survey found that utilization of grocery apps extends beyond just placing orders, with a majority of consumers (73%) using mobile grocery apps to verify in-stock items before shopping in person - and this increases among younger generations with more than 4 in 5 Millennials and Gen Z (84%) saying the same. Despite this, accurate inventory visibility is a top pain point among grocery e-commerce consumers. By failing to meet consumer expectations, grocers risk losing out on significant opportunities for revenue growth and long-term customer loyalty as more than half (58%) of consumers would be more likely to use a grocery mobile app to shop if it showed an accurate real-time view of inventory availability.
Significant findings of Bryj's grocery consumer survey include:
- 1 in 5 (20%) consumers are dissatisfied with mobile grocery shopping experiences. Half of consumers (49%) are only somewhat satisfied and wish grocery stores would enhance the mobile shopping experience.
- 53% of respondents cited time-savings as the top benefit of grocery mobile apps, followed by the ability to check inventory at nearby stores (48%), and convenience (43%).
- More than 1 in 3 Millennials (35%) and over a quarter of Gen Z (27%) make larger purchases when using a mobile app to shop compared to shopping in-store.
- The top pain points consumers experience with grocery e-commerce include items being out of stock despite showing they were available at the time of ordering (48%), product quality issues (32%), and items not showing on the app that are usually available in-store (30%).
- Consumers would be more likely to use grocery mobile apps to shop if they provided an accurate real-time view of inventory availability (58%), followed by in-app exclusive coupons and discounts (47%), and visibility into when an out-of-stock item is going to be restocked (41%).
"Consumers today expect convenience and efficiency in every transaction and interaction. We've only just scratched the surface of the digital revolution within grocery e-commerce, and mobile devices are key to unlocking its full potential," said Lawrence Snapp, CEO of Bryj. "With AI, mobile checkout and personalized digital experiences, grocers can enhance mobile experiences to better meet consumer expectations, strengthen customer loyalty, and increase the bottom line."
As consumers rely more heavily on mobile apps to do their grocery shopping or browse available items nearby before shopping in-store, it is also crucial to acknowledge the tie between the customer experience and the need to provide store employees with tools and technologies to meet customer expectations. To better meet the needs of consumers today, grocers must equip store employees with mobile technologies to enable an accurate view into inventory availability in real-time, better serve customers in-store and in-app, and deliver the frictionless digital experiences that customers demand.
Bryj has driven powerful, mobile-first experiences across the food and beverage landscape, helping customers including Brookshire Brothers, Southern Glazer Wine & Spirits, and Distell Distribution: Sip Selection elevate their mobile strategies to boost ROI, streamline inefficient processes, and unlock the super-premium experiences that are necessary for sustained business success.
To learn more about Bryj, please visit https://www.bryj.ai/.
About Bryj
Bryj (pronounced bridge) is an end-to-end solution that turns mobile apps into assets. Bryj builds, powers, and scales mobile apps that increase ROI, drive engagement, and transform digital experiences. Bryj apps seamlessly connect to enterprise systems and provide AI analytics, advanced UX marketing tools, and world-class customer experience. Trusted by leading technology partners like Salesforce, Microsoft, Box, and AWS, Bryj has powered billions of app sessions and championed hundreds of business (B2B), consumer (B2C), employee (B2E), and education apps for enterprise brands and organizations worldwide. Bryj Technologies, Inc., was founded in Paris, France, in 2013 and moved its headquarters to Silicon Valley in 2022.
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SOURCE: Bryj Technologies